Pale Apparition
by Lizzy Turner
Summary: Kensi has been reassigned. Where? What's the operation? When will she go back to LA? THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS!
1. Chapter 1

C 130, OVER THE PACIFIC OCEAN

Kensi is furious. Granger won't tell her anything other than to not contact anyone, not even Hetty. She's been on this C 130 for close to 13 hours. The C 130 is built for transport and cargo, definitely not comfort. She feels every bump, drop, and dip. She's been told to get some sleep, but it's pretty hard to get sleep when one doesn't know where she is going, what she'll be doing, or when she'll be returning to LA. She closes her eyes trying one more time to get some sleep.

"Ms. Blye?" Granger leans over and touches Kensi's shoulder. "Agent Blye?"

Kensi jumps at his touch. Looking up at Granger she realizes that she must have actually dozed off.

"Yes?"

"We're just about an hour out and I wanted to brief you a bit before we land." Granger says as he sits down beside Kensi.

"Finally." Kensi says in a clipped voice unable to hide her impatience. "I don't appreciate being left in the dark."

Unperturbed Granger says, "It wasn't necessary to brief you so soon, not as soon as we got on the plane. What would be the point?"

"Well, Assistant Director," Kensi states annoyingly, "I like to be thoroughly informed before I go out into the field, especially if that field is in another country."

"Agreed, but I still won't be briefing you fully here on the plane. I'll give you the rest of the info at the safe house."

Anger in her voice Kensi raises it just a bit, and furrowing her eyebrows replies, "Is this how this is going to be? Are you going to feed me bits and pieces of info when you feel like it? This isn't how I operate. I'm already uncomfortable away from my team, my partner."

Unfazed by Kensi's growing temper Granger says, "Relax, Agent Blye, you'll be assigned a new team once we get to the safe house."

"Relax?" Kensi says as she begins to get up out of her seat.

Granger stops her, grasping her forearm firmly, and slowly pulling her back down. Kensi stares at him. He releases her arm. "Yes, Ms. Blye, relax. You'll know everything when you need to know."

Kensi, resigned to her current fate, takes a deep sigh and nods her head, "Why me and why this operation?"

"Let's just say you possess a particular skill set that is crucial to the success of this mission."

"And what is that?"

"All in good time Agent Blye." Granger pauses briefly. "We'll be landing in Afghanistan shortly. Immediately upon arriving we'll drive to the safe house where you'll meet your new team and get acquainted. All of you will be fully briefed tomorrow morning." Granger gets up to leave.

"Assistant Granger?"

Granger stops and turns to face Kensi. "You may not contact anyone Agent Blye. This is a very delicate mission and we cannot risk any unnecessary communication. Your team, stateside, will be briefed by Hetty if and when she deems it essential. With any luck you'll be back with your team back in LA in a few months. Now try to get some shut eye."

Kensi nods again, leans her head against the back of her seat, closes her eyes, and tries to look as though she is going to take a cat nap. Calm and cool, that's how she wants to come across to Granger, however, inside she is absolutely freaking out. Granger, satisfied, turns and walks towards the cockpit.

**SAFE HOUSE, MORNING**

Kensi is the first one up the next morning. She quickly dresses and goes out into the kitchen to _make some coffee for herself and the other members of her new team._

"New team", she says aloud with a short chuckle. _They had gotten to sleep late last night, spending the evening talking and trying to form bonds and build trust._ "Trust, really?" Kensi asks herself. She stops looking in the kitchen cupboards for the coffee maker and instead looks through the lace curtain and out the large kitchen window at the still sleeping neighborhood. _She thinks back to when she first met Deeks._ "Deeks . . ." she says with a smile. _How long had it taken them to build trust? Days? Weeks? Months? Months. Definitely months. And now she was expected to trust this new team in a matter of days._ "Right."

She finally finds the coffee maker and makes the Afghanistan version of American coffee. It isn't StarBucks, Trader Joes, or Dunkin Donuts, but it is caffeine, and right now that is what she needs. She sits down at the kitchen table and looks out the same window from earlier. _The neighborhood is beginning to wake up, cars passing, individuals coming and going._ She takes a sip of her coffee and whispers, "Life goes on . . ."

"Good morning." says a cheery voice as it rounds the corner.

"Morning, Matt."

"I smell coffee."

Kensi points in the direction of the coffee maker.

Matt makes a B line to the mugs resting in the dish drainer by the sink and helps himself to one and pours a heaping, steaming cup of coffee, black no sugar. He blows over the top of the coffee several times and takes a large gulp. "God, that's awful." He sits down across from Kensi and says, "How did you sleep? Because my bed totally suu-"

Kensi stops him, "Shhhhhhh . . ."

"Not a morning person?"

Kensi looks at him and puts her finger over her lips in the universal sign for quiet.

Matt grins and whispers, "I get it." He gets up and goes into the living room.

Kensi follows him with her eyes until he's out of sight. _He might as well know now, first day in, that she's not a morning person._

A few minutes later she hears Matt whisper to the second member of the team, Zach, "She's not a morning person." Kensi grins.

"That's okay," Zach whispers back, "I'm not either." He comes walking around the corner of the kitchen from the living room scratching his head and smoothing down his unruly dark curls. He pours himself a cup of coffee, quickly exits the kitchen, and plops himself next to Matt on the couch in the living room.

The house is peaceful, the only sounds coming from the coffee maker and the kitchen sink's drippy faucet. Occasionally, a car goes by. Each team member lost in their own thoughts.

Suddenly, the quiet in the house is disrupted by the sound of someone outside the exterior door, first trying to open the door and finding it locked, then using a key to get into the house. Kensi, Matt, and Zach each go into high alert and reach for their hand guns, which not surprisingly, are nearby. They silently creep up near the door and with unorthodox hand signals they decide who will open the door, where the others will position themselves to cover their teammate, and who will help with taking down the unknown assailant. Matt, standing in front of the door with his weapon drawn and pointed towards it signals to Kensi with his other hand; one finger, two fingers, three fingers. Kensi reaches for the door handle and opens it quickly, Zach who's on the other side of the door frame reaches out and grabs the assailant, throwing him to the floor and holding him down. Matt moves in closer to stand over the fallen man with his gun near the man's head.

The man finally speaks. "Well, it's good to see that you guys are working together so soon after meeting."

Zach rolls the guy over.

"Granger." Kensi says with a hugh sigh of relief, "What the hell."


	2. Chapter 2

**SAFE HOUSE, MORNING**

The Assistant Director looks up at each team member, reaches for the file that he dropped during his quick trip to the floor, and gets up. "Agent Blye, I told you yesterday I would brief you all in the morning. Well, it's morning."

"Let's have a seat shall we," says Granger gruffly as he gestures towards the living room. The room is small, barely large enough to comfortably hold a couch, chair, end table, and television. Kensi, Matt, and Zach move to sit on the couch. There's room for all three, however, shoulders and knees are touching. Granger, stands in front of them, pacing back and forth.

The trio silently watches Granger, waiting patiently for him to begin. Moments pass as Granger contemplates how to proceed.

"Each of you have been brought here from NCIS field offices from across the U. S. You were chosen for this mission for several reasons, but most importantly because you each possess the necessary skills to successfully complete this operation."

Granger opens the file and hands each agent surveillance photos of a man in his late 30's, ivory skin, and white hair. "This individual has eluded us for a number of years. His name is Gunner Hansen." The pictures show the man, with his body guards, at different locations around the city speaking with his associates.

The agents begin scrutinizing the photos carefully sharing them among each other.

"It has come to our attention that he is back in Afghanistan."

"Back?" Matt asks.

"Yes, he's been off the radar for a while, and now he's back." Granger says. "He's like a ghost, showing up for a month or so, causing havoc in the area, and then disappearing only to return at another time and place."

Kensi taking a deep sigh, "What's his cause?"

"Self interest. He sells his services, from drugs to guns, to the highest bidder."

"Great." Kensi says as she leans back and puts her head on the back of the couch.

"Ms. Blye?"

Kensi brings her head back up, "In some ways this guy is more dangerous than your most desperate terrorist."

"How so?"

"Hansen's motivated by greed that makes him unpredictable. A terrorist is motivated by ideology that makes him predictable."

Granger nods.

Matt interrupts the silence that has now enveloped the room,"Why can't you continue having him tracked?"

"Because it's not enough. He always manages to know that he's being tailed and gets away. This time though we're going to try something different."

"Different? Different how?" questions Kensi.

"I'll get to that in a minute." Granger pauses briefly and then continues. "Our surveillance picked him up a few days ago. We need to get to him before he disappears again. You were pulled from your current posts as soon as we confirmed his presence here."

"Do we know where he is right now?" Kensi continues.

"Our intel tells us that he is staying at an estate outside of the city. Your job is to watch him, follow him. Find out what he's up to. Matt, you and Kensi, will be responsible for knowing where he is at all times of the day and night. Zach, you're tech support and overwatch."

Matt stands, unable to remain sitting any longer and heads into the kitchen for some more coffee. "And? What else? What is the desired outcome?"

"We want to know why he's here and stop whatever he's planning." Granger states gravely as he watches Matt leave the leaving room. " And, to stop him."

"Stop him? Stop him, how? I don't see how we're going to get close enough to find out what he's planning let alone stop him." Zach says.

Kensi agrees, "Zach's right. Suspicion surrounds the guy," tossing Hansen's picture on the coffee table, "and the men who work for him. He's not going to trust someone he's just met and neither are they."

"You're not going undercover."

Kensi's brow furrows, "I don't understand."

"Surveillance."

Matt comes back from the kitchen and points to the pictures on the coffee table, "Isn't that how you got these pictures in the first place? I don't see how we're going to do anything different."

"This team," gesturing to all three of them, "is going to get a little more up close and personal." Granger says with a smile.

"But not go undercover?" Kensi says puzzled.

"That's correct, Agent Blye. I want this team to get closer to the target. Up until now we've watched him from a distance afraid to get too close and spook him."

"How do you want us to do that?" Matt says.

"That's why you're here Matt for your tactical expertise." Granger says with a smirk.

Matt shrugs, "Okay then, the first thing we need to do is -"

"I'll leave you to make plans." Granger says as he begins putting the photos back in the folder. "Get back to me as soon as you have something."

Zach nods, "Will do.".

LATE AFTERNOON

Kensi, Matt, and Zach arrive outside an old abandoned mud brick home about 3 miles from the target's estate. Zach parks the Jeep behind the mud home, grabs his lap top, and heads towards the building. "Turn on your earwigs as soon as you get a chance. And guys," Kensi and Matt look up at Zach, "be careful."

Kensi and Matt both nod their heads their minds already on the job a head of them. They grab the rest of their gear from the back of the Jeep and put it in their backpacks. They sling their backpacks over their shoulders, and begin to travel the rest of the distance on foot.

OUTSIDE TARGET'S ESTATE

About 500 feet from the mansion Kensi and Matt set up their position behind an outcropping of boulders. Kensi looks out towards the house and slowly turns 360 degrees taking in everything around them.

"Will this work for you?" Matt questions.

Looking back at the mansion, "Yep, barely any wind, good angle. I'm good to go whenever you're ready." She pulls out the camera and begins taking pictures of the area.

"Great." Matt gets out his binoculars and looks over the compound. "Wow, you see this place? Two floors and get . a load . of the color . of that house. It sticks out like a sore thumb. And those glass windows," he chuckles, "not a very good idea for a bad guy." A few moments pass. "It looks pretty quiet. I see three SUVs, but no guards." He looks to Kensi. "Don't you find that odd?"

"Maybe -" Kensi is interrupted.

Zach over comms, "Incoming."

Kensi and Matt kneel deeper into their hiding place. Kensi looks through her high powered camera and scans the area looking for the expected vehicle. Minutes pass. Finally, "Here comes another SUV at 4 o'clock," she says as she begins taking pictures.

Matt brings his binoculars back up and watches the SUV as it approaches the estate. "This could get interesting."

The SUV makes its way up the long curvy driveway and stops in front of the house. Just as the driver of the SUV, a man over 6 feet tall and easily 250 pounds, steps foot out of the car three guards jump out from their hiding places with semi automatic weapons drawn. One guard slowly approaches the driver and motions for him to get on the ground and remain still. The driver moves towards the guard as if to tell him something, but is quickly shoved to the ground and kept there with the barrel of the gun pointed at his head. Meanwhile, the other two guards cautiously open both the back doors of the SUV and order the occupants to exit the vehicle. The occupants, a man and a woman are dressed in formal evening attire, but that doesn't deter the guards. One of the guards lowers his weapon and begins to frisk the male passenger when there's a shout out from the doorway of the house. Kensi and Matt can't hear what's being said, but the guards immediately lower their weapons and take a few steps back. The male guest turns around and pushes the guard who was frisking him out of the way, yelling something at him before going around the SUV to help the woman, who's clearly shaken, into the house.

"He's not very happy." Matt says as he continues to watch through his binoculars. The driver then gets up to retaliate against the earlier abuse, but he's pushed back against the SUV. "Well, well, he's clearly not receiving the same respect as the other two."

Kensi nods still taking pictures. "Be extra careful, Matt. Those guards look a bit anxious to me."

Matt begins putting the binoculars away, "Aaaah, Kensi, are you worried about me?"

Kensi stops taking pictures, lowers the camera, and slowly turns towards Matt, "I just don't want to have to come save your ass, that's all." Then to Zach. "Zach?"

"Yo."

"Sending you some pictures."

"I'll put them through facial req. I'll let you know as soon as I get a hit."

"Thanks." Turning to Matt. "You ready?"

"Just about."

Kensi watches Matt as he checks his weapons one last time and puts the final touches of black paint on his face.

Matt takes one last look around, nods to Kensi, and begins to cautiously make his way to the estate.

Kensi pulls out her sniper rifle and night scope, puts herself in a prone position and tracks Matt as he moves from random bush to random boulder slowly inching his way closer and closer to the house. She breathes a deep sigh and quietly says to no one in particular, "I sure hope this works."

"I hope it does, too." whispers Matt.

"Me, three." Zach calmly says over the comm.


	3. Chapter 3

EVENING, ESTATE

Kensi, Matt, and Zach have all agreed not to talk on the comms unless absolutely necessary so she quietly continues to scan the house and the surrounding area. With the heat of the sun long gone Kensi begins to feel the cold seeping through her outer jacket. Matt is putting a tracer and microphone under the last of the SUVs. His hands are cold and his fingers are numb making it slow going. Suddenly . . .

"Matt, stop."

Matt stops. He can only assume that a guard is making his rounds, again. He holds his breath and closes his eyes trying to hear where the guard is coming from this time. Kensi, 500 feet away, looking through her night scope is ready on the trigger. They don't want to have to shoot their way out of here. That would defeat the purpose of their mission, but she isn't going to let Matt get killed, discovered or captured on her watch. No, not if she can help it.

"He's walking a way, just a few more seconds." Seconds seem like hours to both of them. Kensi watches the guard leave the SUVs and slowly make his way back into the house. "Okay he's gone. Are you almost done?"

"Just a few more minutes." Matt whispers as he puts the final touches on the tracer and microphone. He puts his tools into his backpack then rolls to the edge of the SUV, "Clear?"

Kensi scans the house and yard one last time, and checks her watch. "Clear, you have about 8 minutes before the guard is scheduled to make his next round."

Matt nods to no one in particular and gets out from under the SUV. He slowly begins making his way away from the estate using the SUVs as his cover, when the door to the house opens and a guard comes out.

"Matt, get down, get down." Kensi suddenly whispers.

Matt quickly dives behind a small bush about 20 feet away from the SUVs. The guard, distracted by the laughter of the other guards coming from inside the house, doesn't hear the rustling of the bush or see any movement. He yells something into the house from the doorway and closes the door, shaking his head and chuckling.

Matt, laying as still as possible behind the bush, watches the guard move slowly around the estate and then the driveway. Matt wants to reach for his gun, but he's certain that if he does the guard will spot him. He can only hope his new teammate is covering him and she's as good as Granger thinks she is.

Meanwhile, Kensi, up in her protected hide, is watching Matt and the guard. Her finger steady, near the trigger, and the guard, clearly in her sight. She is prepared to take down the guard if Matt is discovered.

The guard looks out from the driveway in Matt's general direction, but fails to see him. The guard looks up at the cloudless night sky and then out into the desert. It is so dark he can barely make out the mountains in the distance. He shivers then turns and walks quickly towards the house.

A minute later, "Matt, all clear."

Matt looks around and cautiously gets up from his hiding place behind the bush and begins to scurry back to the hide where Kensi is waiting.

SAFE HOUSE, NEXT DAY

They had gotten back very early this morning and had immediately crashed.

Kensi wakes up to the smell of coffee. She smiles as she thinks of Callen, Sam, Deeks, Nell, and Eric. She wishes she could call them or at least Deeks. The way she had left so suddenly she wonders what he was thinking. At least they had been able to talk before he had jumped into the ambulance to go to the hospital with Thappa. They had left off in a good spot and she was confident that when she got back they would be able to continue where they had left off, at least she hoped to. Surely Callen and Sam had told Deeks what went down when he had gotten back to the Mission. If not them, then Hetty.

She stretches and opens her eyes. She wonders who made the coffee. She slips out of bed and into the shower.

A half an hour later she walks into the kitchen. "The coffee smells wonderful." She says to an empty kitchen. Finding no one there she shrugs and pours herself a cup of coffee. Kensi begins walking through the house drinking her coffee. She finally hears talking coming from down the hall and follows the sounds into a big room. In the room, along one of the walls is a large plasma screen projecting a lay out of the nearby city. Kensi watches three green blips. On the other wall are 3 computer work stations. She turns to see Zach sitting at one and pointing to something on the computer console with Matt standing behind him looking intently at what Zach is pointing to and listening to what he is saying. "Good morning."

They both look up and say simultaneously, "Good morning."

"What are you looking at?" says Kensi.

"Hansen is already on the move." says Zach.

"Well the SUVs are anyway." Matt clarifies.

"It looks like they are all traveling in the same direction?" Kensi says looking up at the plasma screen and tracking the three green blips.

Zach nods.

Kensi walking over to where Matt and Zach are, "Well then, I would think that Hansen is in one of them. Hansen's not going anywhere without protection." Kensi says as she finishes her coffee and puts the mug on the desk of the workstation Zach's sitting at.

"You have a point." says Matt turning away from the computer console. He walks up to the plasma screen looking at the three blips.

"Do we know which SUV he's in?" Zach asks as he picks up Kensi's cup and hands it back to her.

"No, but does it matter? Questions Matt as he turns away from the plasma to look at Zach.

"It will matter if the SUVs separate." says Kensi.

"How do we know he's even in one of the SUVs? We don't have eyes on him when he's coming and going from the house." Zach says.

"We bugged the SUVs, too. So we'll be able to hear him." Matt says.

"We don't know what he sounds like. All we know is what he looks like." Says Zach.

"I think we can go by who's giving the orders and who's taking them." Says Matt.

"Not necessarily. It could be Hansen's right hand man the others are taking orders from." Kensi says.

Matt sighing heavily and moving closer to Kensi, "Why do you have to make this so difficult?"

Agitated Kensi says, "Hey, I'm just trying to be thorough. The last thing we need is to waste our time tracking the wrong guy. I don't know about you, but I want to get back stateside as soon as possible."

"She's right, Matt. We don't want Hansen to slip through our fingers because we didn't cover all of our bases." Zach says in agreement.

"Yeah, I know." Matt says frustratingly, looking at both Zach and Kensi, and running his hand through his dark hair and shaking his head.

Kensi nods her head and says, "So, what's our next move?"

"We need to stake out the house tomorrow morning and wait for Hansen to leave in one of the SUVs. When we see which SUV he's in we'll be able to get a recording of his voice."

"That's awful risky. . . . Wonder if we get spotted?" says the always cautious, Zach.

"That's not an option." Matt says confidently.

"I don't like it." says a concerned Kensi staring Matt down.

"Noted." says Matt staring right back at her.

Kensi, her eye contact with Matt unwavering, says, "How about we monitor the bugs in all three SUVs today and see if we can narrow down which one Hansen is in just by the audio."

Matt nodding, "If we can positively identify Hansen then this second trip to the desert house won't be necessary."

"It might not be too hard to single him out. He's not from Afghanistan. Maybe he's speaking English or really bad Pashto or Dari, or he has an interpreter." Zach says hopefully.

"Agreed, but just in case. . ." He turns to Zach, "Zach, what time did Hansen or at least the caravan of SUVs leave the house?"

Zach, turns to the keyboard, punches a few keys, and seconds later says, "0800."

"Okay, we'll be at the house by 0500."

"The good news is we won't have to get close to the house. We can stake out Hansen from where I was positioned last night." says Kensi.

"And the bad news?" asks Zach.

"Sunrise is at 0700 which means -"

"-Which means we'll be sitting ducks out in the desert once the sun rises." says Kensi before heading to the kitchen to fill up her empty coffee cup.

"Exactly." says Matt impressed with Kensi's quick thinking.

"What's your exit strategy?" Zach says as he brings up the audio on all three SUVs. "You can't be seen walking in the desert in broad daylight."

"We'll have to think about that, won't we?" says the ever confident Matt. "I'll relieve you in an hour, Zach." Matt begins to leave the room, "If you need me before then I'll be working out."


	4. Chapter 4

SAFE HOUSE, LATER THAT AFTERNOON

Matt and Zach have been taking turns listening to the chatter in the four SUVs.

On the computer screen Zach has set up a visual of the SUVs and is recording each man's voice and assigning him to a specific SUV.

Kensi comes into the makeshift ops room. Zach is at his computer console punching away on the keys. She notices another blip on the large plasma screen. "Who's the blue blip?"

Zach, looking up from his computer, "Guests from last night."

"Do we know who they are?"

Zach brings up pictures of two men,"Yep, facial req pinged the driver and the male passenger. The body guard is Aarif Khaaliq a known bad guy."

"And the male passenger?"

"Kaade Fahim."

"Who's he?"

Just then Matt walks in, "He's a business man with ties to Al-Qaeda."

Kensi chuckles and raises her eyebrows, "Business man?"

Matt slumps into the nearest chair, "Drugs are his business."

Kensi asks, "What does he want with Gunner Hansen?"

Zach scratches his dark beard and shrugs his shoulders, "He must want to buy something."

Matt nodding,"Or trade. Guns for drugs?"

Kensi shakes her head, "Hansen strikes me as a cash only kind of guy."

Zach agreeing, "Maybe there's another player. A player with cash."

Matt with a smirk, "Making it a threesome?"

Kensi grins, "Something like that." Then turning serious, "We need to find this other player, if one does exist."

"Hansen may have met with him already. He's probably one of his stops." Zach says pointing to the plasma screen from his chair.

Matt looking at the large screen, "I think we have to watch and listen for a few more days. We'll see if he's a creature of habit or a man of mystery."

Kensi turns to Matt, "So I take it we're not heading out tomorrow morning to find out for sure if Hansen is in one of those three SUVs?"

"No, we'll hold off for now. After listening today Zach and I are pretty sure he's in one of these SUVs," pointing to the three green blips on the screen. "There's one guy in particular with a really bad accent, we believe that's Hansen."

Zach nods, "We'll continue to track the SUVs and monitor recordings. We'll see if anything new turns up."

A FEW DAYS LATER – SAFE HOUSE

They've been tracking and recording the movements and voices of who they think is Gunner Hansen, his body guards, and Fahim.

Kensi, Zach, and Matt are in the ops center for one of their regularly scheduled update meetings. Zach is standing over by the plasma screen looking over the tracking data, "Hansen seems to be a creature of habit, goes to the same areas each day. Same places, same times."

"That's a bad habit to get into." Matt says leaning back in the office chair with his hands clasped behind his head. "He should be changing his routine."

The other agents nod.

Matt says to no one in particular. "It's not very smart."

Zach continues,"Take a look at Hansen's and Fahim's SUV routes over the last few days." Several green blips and the lone blue blip flash on the screen. "Here are the places Hansen and Fahim have been and the times. Notice that Hansen and Fahim have been here," Zach points to a location on the screen, "at the same time each day. Then, a little while later, Hansen parks a few miles away near this warehouse and Fahim heads out west of the city."

Matt rises from his chair, slowly walks over to the plasma screen, and studies each SUV's course. "So Fahim and Hansen meet to talk about drugs in exchange for weapons. Then Hansen goes a few miles to this warehouse," pointing at the location."Perhaps to check on the status of his guns?"

Kensi standing beside Zach says, "Meanwhile, Fahim drives out to this," pointing to the area, "remote location and checks up on his drugs."

Matt says looking at Kensi, "But if what you think is true, Hansen wants cash not drugs."

Kensi smiles,"He needs someone who wants drugs for cash."

"Now, after the warehouse, Hansen goes to this shopping mall across town." Zach says pointing to the shopping district.

Matt biting a stray mustache hair that's hanging over his lip, "Where he meets the guy with the cash."

Zach points to Matt, "Bingo."

Kensi says doubtfully, "I don't know guys, this is all speculative."

"Maybe, but from what we know about Fahim and Hansen, it tracks." Zach says with confidence.

Suddenly the ring tone, 'Smoke on the Water,' comes over Matt's cell phone.

"Really? I didn't take you for a Deep Purple kind of guy." says Kensi.

Matt says with a smile, "Gotta love them." He picks up his cell and looks to see who the caller is, "Granger." Matt answers his phone, "Assistant Director." He stops to listen to Granger and nods his head, "See you in a few," he hangs up and heads for the main door, "Kensi, I need back up."

Kensi follows.

A few moments later there's a knock at the door. Matt, with gun in hand, goes over to the door and looks out the peep hole making sure it's Granger. Once he's satisfied that Granger's alone he double checks to make sure Kensi has his back, puts his gun away, and unlocks the door. Matt steps back and allows Granger to step in quickly.

Kensi puts her gun away and says,"Good idea to call first."

Without any pleasantries Granger says,"I didn't want a repeat of my first visit. What have you found out?"

Matt begins walking back to the makeshift ops room, "Quite a bit actually."

Granger and Kensi follow. Once in the ops room Granger sees for the first time the grid of the city and flashing dots showing the traveling paths of the four SUVs.

Zach, Matt, and Kensi each take turns catching Granger up to what they think is happening.

"When do you think this is going to come together?" Granger asks.

"We don't know." Matt says with uncertainty.

"You don't know? We need to find out what exactly Hansen's got planned and the timing of it all. He's not going to hang around much longer. It's time we got a little closer."

Kensi furrowing her eyebrows, "How much closer?"

"Close enough to hear what he's planning."

Zach says, "We can already hear him. We have a record of every conversation from each of the SUVs."

"How did you pull that off?"

Matt says, "When we went out to the desert house and put tracking devices in the SUVs we figured we'd put the microphones in, too."

"Have you found out anything out from the recordings?"

"Zach and I have translated all the recordings, but we don't have anything concrete. They don't talk much in the SUV. Hansen doesn't share his plans with his hired guns."

"If you haven't garnished any info from the recordings in the SUVs you'll have to put some bugs in the house."

"There's no reason to bug the house." Zach says surprised, "Hansen does all his communicating in person."

"Are you sure about that?"

Zach hesitantly, "Well, no, but given that we haven't heard any of his plans while in the SUV I can surmise that he talks only face to face with Fahim and the unknown guy. That's probably why they meet every day."

"But we need to cover all our bases. Bug the house." Granger says insistently.

Matt losing his patience, "How do you propose we do that?"

"You'll enter his house when he's out meeting with Fahim and the money man and plant some microphones."

"During the day?"

"Yep, they're gone. The house is empty."

Zach shaking his head in disbelief, "You THINK the house is empty. He may have more body guards that stay at the house. We saw only three the first night and now we've counted six."

Granger taking a deep sigh clearly becoming impatient, "Perhaps three of the six are the same ones from the house the other night."

Kensi, trying to remain composed, "Maybe, but we can't be sure. Plus, there may be others in the house as well. Others that aren't body guards."

Granger turning to Matt,"Do you think it will be possible to bug the house while they're there at night?"

Matt flabbergasted, "Maybe, but not before we -"

"Then you have no other choice, during the day it will be." Granger insists.

Zach calmly, "We haven't trailed him long enough to be confident that his schedule is the same from day to day."

Matt astonished,"What happens if Hansen comes home while we're there?"

Granger confidently says, "Zach will be in overwatch, he'll let you know when someone is approaching."

Matt dumbfounded, "Zach is only three miles out, with the terrain the way it is that won't give me much time to get out of the house and get to decent cover."

Granger unwavering, "That won't be a problem. Kensi will be covering you. If someone gets too close she'll take him out."

Kensi shocked, "You're talking as though there will only be one maybe two people after Matt. Hansen could have a whole army in that house for all we know, it's big enough."

Granger, "For all you know there may not be anyone in the house."

Zach says with a snicker, "Do you really think that's probable?"

Matt shakes his head, "I don't like it. It's too risky. If I get caught the whole mission will be compromised."

Granger sternly, "Then don't get caught."

Matt glaring at Granger, "Easier said than done, Granger."

"We'll have to take that chance. Look, Matt, we need to get going on this soon. We don't have time to waste. We don't want Hansen slipping through our fingers again."

Matt takes a step closer to Granger and says loudly, "WASTE? . . . is that what you think we're doing?"

"Careful, Matt." Granger says with a note of caution.

"I won't be careful. You administrators are all the same. You're playing with our lives here and I'm not going to stand around letting you risk them just because you want quick results."

"If you don't do this Matt I'll find someone who will."

Kensi interrupts, "Look," and stands between Granger and Matt, "I think our next step should be to stake out where Hansen has been going and who he's meeting with, if he's meeting with anyone. Then we can decide where to go from there."

Granger takes a moment to contemplate Kensi's idea and turns to Matt, "What do you think?"

"Well, I like it a hell of a lot more than entering Hansen's house in broad daylight!" Matt looks at each of his teammates and they nod their approval. "Okay, Granger, tomorrow we stake out the three locations.

"Fine, but if you aren't able to gather new intel by tomorrow evening we'll go with the house bugging. Is that clear?" Granger doesn't wait for an answer. "I'll see myself out."


	5. Chapter 5

NEXT MORNING, SAFE HOUSE

They all appear in the ops room dressed in appropriate clothing. Zach hands out ear wigs and button cams.

"Matt, since you'll be seeing Gunner first," Zach hands him an audio bug, "here's the bug you have to place on him."

"How far away from him can we be?"

"It," Zach pointing to the audio bug in Matt's hand says smugly, "can transmit up to 100 feet. You'll even be able to hear him through walls."

Matt smiles, and putting the audio bug in his pocket says, "That was going to be my next question."

Kensi, putting her ear wig in, "Separate locations means no backup."

"We all have comms and button cams." Zach says reassuringly, "If we run into a problem we'll all know."

"What's that going to do for us?" Kensi says shrugging her shoulders.

Matt cuts in, "Not much, but . . . . Granger will be on overwatch. He'll have ears as well."

Kensi shaking her head, "I still don't like it."

"I don't either," Matt says disgruntled, "but it's the best we can do on such short notice."

Zach shakes his head and almost in a whisper says, "If we get caught with ear wigs . . . and button cams . . ."

Kensi sighs deeply, "I know."

Matt looks at both of them, "Are we ready?"

Zach asks, "Can we think of anything else?"

Matt and Kensi both shake their heads.

Matt turns to leave the ops room, "Remember . . . see, not be seen."

HANSEN'S FIRST STOP, COFFEE SHOP LOCATION

Matt arrives 30 minutes before Hansen's scheduled arrival time. He familiarizes himself with the area walking up and down the busy street; checking alley ways, counting street vendors, cars, people, anything that he may need to know. The streets are crowded with people and automobiles. He looks into several store fronts that pepper the street, stops to buy a morning paper, and finally chooses a coffee house that looks over most of the road way. He makes his way into the crowded coffee house, bumping other patrons as he sidles over to the counter to order a coffee. He finds a seat in the back of the coffee shop facing the street. He settles down and begins reading the newspaper, drinking coffee, and smoking a cigarette.

A little while later, Zach, tracking Hansen's SUVs from the safe house says over the ear wig, "Subject is coming your way."

Matt casually takes a sip of his coffee and looks up from his newspaper to see Hansen's SUVs drive up to the curb and park almost directly across from the coffee shop from where he is. He scans the area immediately around the three SUVs, but doesn't see Fahim.

Just then, Zach over the ear wig, "Fahim is there, too."

Matt doesn't see Fahim's SUV, but does see Fahim walk up to Hansen's SUVs just as Hansen, wearing white slacks and jacket, gets out of the car. They acknowledge each other and begin walking, with two of Hansen's body guards, to the very coffee house Matt is sitting in. Matt can't believe his luck. Now if it will just hold out long enough for him to plant the bug and get out of this place.

Fahim and Hansen sit at a table near the front window facing the door. Hansen takes off his jacket and puts it around the back of his chair. One body guard sits at another nearby table looking out at the passersby for anything dubious. The other body guard walks farther into the coffee house, up to the counter, and orders.

"Well, at least we can confirm that Hansen is in the SUVs we've been tracking for the last 4 days." Zach says, still at ops and looking up at the live feed from Matt's button cam. "Wow, you would think he would wear a different color jacket; white hair and white jacket make him look all washed out."

Matt subtly shakes his head at Zach's comment. He notices, while watching Hansen and Fahim, that the locals don't seem to notice them.

"There's not much attention from the locals." Matt hears through the ear wig. He smirks and takes a drink from his coffee cup.

As luck would have it Hansen and Fahim are right between Matt and the outside door. Matt has to place the bug quickly so they don't miss any intel. Matt nonchalantly finishes the last of his coffee, reaches into his pocket, and pulls out the audio bug. He gets up, folds his newspaper, and tucks it under his arm. He walks towards the exit with the small bug in his hand, advancing on Hansen and Fahim cautiously, but casually. He doesn't want to raise suspicion. With the coffee shop being so crowded Matt doesn't have any trouble gently bumping into the back of Hansen's chair and placing the bug inside the collar of Hansen's coat.

WAREHOUSE LOCATION

Zach drops Kensi off about a half mile from the warehouse location on the way to his assigned locale. She takes her time walking the half mile. Hansen is still at the coffee house which gives her time to look around. Not much happening in the area; a few shops, one or two coffee houses along with several warehouses, and children playing ball in the street. She's dressed as a man with her face covered by a keffiyeh. She has several layers of clothing on to help bulk up her frame and it helps that she's tall. She walks the length of the street looking over any vacant store fronts and alleys along with checking for suspicious individuals and parked cars.

COFFEE HOUSE LOCATION

Matt exits the coffee house and sits on a nearby bench to people watch while listening, through his ear wig, to Hansen and Fahim.

"Look, Fahim, I can't wait around much longer. I'm expecting the last of the shipment soon and I need something from you."

"Here."

"What's this?"

"A sample."

"I told you, I don't . . ."

"For the buyer."

"This isn't what I'm talking about."

"I know, but I hope with this sample you'll see that I'm serious about this transaction."

Matt glances at Hansen's other SUVs and their drivers, opens his newspaper and pretends to read.

After a half hour, Hansen, with his body guards, and Fahim exit the coffee house and get into their respective SUVs. Fahim heads towards the out skirts of town and Hansen in the direction of Kensi.

"He's on his way to you." Matt whispers.

Matt remains on the bench watching the area for any abnormal activity. A few minutes later, seeing no changes, he leaves.

HANSEN'S SECOND STOP, WAREHOUSE LOCATION

Kensi doesn't know which warehouse is Hansen's so she waits for him to arrive. She stands with other spectators watching the kids playing ball in the street. Within a few minutes of Matt's warning she sees Hansen's SUVs arrive at a warehouse opposite and down the street from where she is. They park on the street and get out. Kensi casually walks in that direction looking at the SUVs and Hansen through the reflection of the few shops that line her side of the street. When she notices, through the reflection, one of Hansen's body guards opening the large warehouse door, she stops in front of a shop window pretending to admire the clothing. A delivery truck drives in. Hansen motions for his body guards to remain outside with the SUVs and follows the truck in on foot and closes the warehouse door. Before the bay door closes all the way down Kensi turns around to see what looks like several same size trucks parked deeper in the warehouse.

Kensi hears Hansen over the earwig. "Welcome my friend. I was beginning to wonder if you would ever get here."

She hears the door to the truck open. "It was a long and dangerous journey, Gunner."

"Your truck is the last one to arrive."

"I wouldn't want to do it again."

"We have the entire shipment, you won't have to."

"When do I get paid?"

"When I get paid."

"And when will that be?"

"Patience, my friend. Right now I want to see this merchandise."

Kensi hears the sound of a truck's back door opening.

"Open the crates."

SHOPPING MALL

Zach has been walking around familiarizing himself with the area. It's a nice area: shops, office buildings, banks, food stores, coffee houses. He too has gotten to this location approximately 30 minutes before Hansen's normally scheduled time. He gets himself a newspaper and finds a nice bench to sit on. He doesn't know which establishment Hansen is going to go into so he chooses the middle of the block so he can get to any location quickly.

WAREHOUSE

She hears the sound of crates being opened. There's a long whistle which she can only assume comes from Hansen.

"I like it."

"I thought you would."

Kensi moves away from the store front not wanting to linger too long. She continues to slowly walk along getting closer and closer to Hansen's warehouse. She wants to get a picture of the truck driver through her button cam.

"I have a motivated buyer he's just having trouble coming up with the capital."

"I don't like that."

"I don't either, and I won't wait much longer."

"Are you sure he can come up with the money?"

"He's got his own merchandise to move before I can get my money."

"What kind of merchandise?"

"You don't need to know. We'll give it a few more days. Can I reach you at your usual place?"

"Yes, but you know I don't like doing things suddenly, call me with a few hours lead time."

"You got it. You go ahead, I'm going to look in a couple of more crates."

A few seconds later the side door opens and the truck driver comes out. Kensi waits for him to get a little distance away from the warehouse and walks towards him. As they pass, each of them acknowledges the other with a nod of their heads. She smiles as she passes him knowing she got a great photo of him from her button cam.

As she nears the warehouse. She sees Hansen leaving through the same side door and glancing at his watch. She slows down her pace and passes behind him just before he gets into the lead SUV, and all three drive off.

Kensi, looking around, softly says, "He's on the way."

Kensi begins walking out of town in the direction from which she had come earlier when a truck slowly comes up behind her. She's startled, but doesn't want to appear nervous. The last thing she wants to do is draw attention to herself. If she's caught with an ear wig and button cam in addition to being a woman in man's clothing she'll be killed without a moment's hesitation, if she's lucky. She stops, reaches near her concealed weapon ready to draw, shoot and run if necessary. She turns around to confront the driver of the truck.

HANSEN'S THIRD STOP, SHOPPING MALL LOCATION

About thirty minutes after receiving Kensi's communication Zach looks up from his newspaper and sees the three black SUVs come up the road. They park almost in front of him. He continues to watch them as he pretends to read the paper.

Through his ear wig Matt says, "Zach, I'm here." Zach releases a short sigh. Although it had been prearranged and he knew Matt would show up as some point, hearing Matt's voice inside his head was reassuring.

Zach gets up and follows Hansen to a jewelery store half way up the street. Hansen tells his body guard to remain outside and he goes in by himself. Zach goes into the coffee shop next door to the jewelery store and orders a coffee. He sits at the counter. Since the bug can transmit through walls Zach is able to hear and therefore record Hansen's conversation with what appears to be the jewelery store owner.

"Here."

"What's this?"

"A sample."

"If this is good how do you prefer payment?"

"Cash."

"Not diamonds?" Silence. "They're easier to move."

"Easier than a wire transfer?"

"Cash will take a few days."

"Fine. Three days, but I'll be back tomorrow to see how things are going."

"And I'll let you know about the quality of the sample."

They talk for a while longer. Zach, still in the coffee shop, listens intently. He hears Hansen begin to leave, but he remains sitting in the coffee shop. A few minutes later he turns around in the seat at the counter and sees the SUVs drive by the coffee shop window. Zach finishes his coffee, deposits his money on the counter, and leaves to go check out the jeweler next door.

WAREHOUSE LOCATION

Kensi turns around, heart pounding, and looks through the dirty windshield of the truck. She takes her hand away from where her concealed weapon is and breathes a sigh of relief. There, sitting in the driver's side is Granger waving for her to get into the truck. She quickly gets in and they head back to the safe house.


End file.
